Printing machine



F Jan. 23, 1923. l,443,316

G. d. EVANS.

; PRINTING MACHINE. n

FlLEO AUG. 13. 1919. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 II .54, ,5 *Y Z13 W W, 10W zr ZZ Z7 N 7 /l W JQ ff Z 49 y l/ff 21"?" Z5 all@ f the machine organized for printing ship` Patented Jan. 23, 1923.

GUY J'. EVANS, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

PRINTING MACHINE.

Application filed August 13, 1919. Serial No. 317,127.

To all Iwhom-1f may concern.

Be it known that I, GUY J. EVANS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Printing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a printing machine in which a stencil is utilized for producing the printed impression upon articles and more particularly t0 va machine of this character for printing post cards, tags and other small sheets.

It is the object of thislinvention to provide a machine of this character which is comparatively simple in construction and easily and expeditiously operable, and which can be readily converted for printing articles of varying sizes, such as post cards and shipping tags.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the machine embodying my invention organized for printing postal cards. Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same. Figures 3 and 4 are vertical transverse sections taken on the correspondingly-numbered lines in Fig. 1. Figure 5 is a perspective view of the platen upon which the article to be printed is supported, and the means for gaging or positioning the same thereon. Figure 6 is a vertical longitudinal section, on an enlarged scale, -showing ping tags or similar articles. Figure 7 is a vertical cross section of the same taken on line 7 7, Fig. 6. Figures 8 and 9 are perspective views of the platen and stencil carrier which are employed in connection with the machine shown in'Figs. 6 and 7.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

Although the main frame of the machine which sup ma be variously constructed, the same prefera ly comprises a horizontal table or bed 10 made of wood and supported on its underside by means of legs 11.

In the construction shown in Figs. 1e5, a horizontal laten 12, preferably of metal, is arranged a ove the table, and adapted to `support a sheet-like article 13 of substantially the dimensions of an ordinary post card. This platen is detachably mounted on the main frame so that the same may rts the various working parts .on the latter a short distance above the upper surface thereof, by means of brackets 16, 16, secured to the upper side of the table -and connected with opposite ends of the transverse bars, and two longitudinal bars 'or rails 17 arranged at a slight elevation over the rear part of the tablev and each supported thereon at its front and rear ends by means of upright posts 18, 19. The platen is arranged with its rear part between the longitudinal bars 17 and rests thereon by means of rear supporting feet 0r studs 20 arranged on the underside of the platen and engaging the upper side of the longitudinal bars, and the front part of the platen extends over the rear transverse bar 15 and is provided with a pair of supporting feet 21 on its underside which engage removably with a pair of openings 22 in the adjacent front part of the table,

lthe front feet of the platen project. This cover-plate in the present use of the machine however forms no function but is utilized in connection with means which form no part of the present invention.

25 represents the printing stencil whereby l a printed impression may be obtained upon v the article which is placed upon the platen by pressing ink through this stencil fromthe upper side thereof while the latter is placed over the article to be printed. This stencil is movable toward and from the upper side of the platen and the article resting thereon and for this purposethe same is mounted on a vertically-movable carrier or printing frame 26 which is preferably of rectangular oblong form and carries the stencil on its y underside. Various means may be employed for detachably connecting the stencil with the carrier or printing frame, but those shown in the drawings are suitable and comprise clips 27 secured to the transverse and longitudinal edges of the printing frame and engaging with the underside of the stencil, as best shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. This stencil frame or carrier is preferably mounted on the platen so as to be capable of' swinging vertically and also tov be easily removable therefrom for greater convenience in changing stencils. Forthis purpose the rear part of thestencil frame is provided with a pair of pivot and cou= pling lugs 28, 28, which project downwardly through .notches 29 in the rear part of' the platen, each ofthe pivot lugs being rovided at its rear edge with an upward y-facing shoulder ,or stop 30 which -is adapted to engage with the underside of the platen in rear of the respective notch 29, and thereby prevent the stencil-carrier from being lifted bodilyI from the platen when the same is in a horizontal position and necessitating turning the stencil-carrier into a vertical position to permit of detaching the same from the platen.

In order to hold the article to be printed in proper position on the platen during the printing operation, means are provided for gaging the same at one of its longitudinal edges and also at the rear or upper edge thereof. The longitudinal or side gage pref erably consists of an upright wall 31 arranged lengthwise of the right longitudinal edge of the platen and provlded at its lower end with a horizontal arm 32 .which is secured to the underside of the platen by means of a screw 33 passing through a transverse slot 34 in this arm, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The gage device `for the rear vor upper edge of the card or other article to be printed, preferably comprises a gage-.finger 35 adapted to project upwardly through an opening 36 in the rear part of the platen, a spring arm 37 arranged lengthwise underneath the platen and connected at its rear end'with the gage finger while its front end is secured to the underside of the platen, and a stop 38 projecting rearwardly from the lower part of the enger and adapted to engage with the underside of the platen in rear of the opening 36 for limiting the upward movement of the gage finger under the action of the spri arm 37. The gage finger, spring arm an stopv are preferably constructed of a single piece of metal, as shown in Fig. 2. The connection between the spring arm and the platen is preferably effected by means of a clamping screw 39 passing through a longitudinal slot 40 in the spring arm 37 and a threaded opening in the platen. By adjusting the side gage 31 crosswise on the platen and adjusting the end gage 35 lengthwise thereof, it is possible to adapt the machine for printing various sizes of cards by this machine, within certain limits, and properly registering the same relatively to the stencil carrier. While the stencil carrier is in its elevated position, the gage-finger 35 is .projected above the surface of the platen by its spring arm, and thereb enables the attendant to place a card or slieet-like article which is to be printed upon the platen and against the side and end gages. Upon lowering 'the stencil frame preparatory to producing an impression thereof 'on the card, the gage= finger is depressed into an inoperative position by engagement of the stencil carrier with the upper end of the gage-finger, as' shown in Fig. 2, so that the latter at this time does not interfere with the operation of printing. As soon as the stencil carrier is again elevated the resilience of the spring 'arm 37 raises the gage linger so that the same is in position to be engaged by the next following card or sheet.

The means for producing an impression of the stencil on the article to be printed are preferably constructed as follows:

41 represents an ink impression or printing roller which is adapted to move back and forth over the up )er side of the stencil carrier and the stenci carried thereby and press ink through the stencil and upon the article to be printed for producing animpression on the latter. This impression roller is mounted on a carriage 42 which is movable back and forth lengthwise of the machine and also capable of swinging or moving vertically relatively thereto, the operation of this carrier and the parts mounted thereon being controlled manually by means of a handle 43 projecting forwardly from the upper-part of this carriage. The surface of the impression roller may be supplied with ink in any suitable manner, but preferably by the means which are shown in the drawings and which comprise an ink-supply roller 44 journaled in the upper part of the carriage and adaptedto be supplied with ink from time to time, either manually or otherwise, vand two distributing rollers 45, 45 mounted on the adjacent part of the carriage and each engaging different parts of its periphery with the ink-supply roller and the impression roller, as shown in Fig. 1. This carriage is pivotally connected on its lower rear part Vby means of a horizontal transverse pin 46 with a slide 47 which reciprocates horizontally and lengthwise over the rear part of the table, thisslide being provided for this purpose on oppOste longitudinal edges with hook-shaped shoes 48 which engage with the outer edges of the longitudinal bars A17, 17, which latter serve as tracks or rails for this purpose. On the innerl longitudinal edges of vthese bars the same are provided with longitudinal ledges or supports 49 upon which the ink impression roller runs at its opposite ends when the same does not enga e with the stencil; carrier and stencil, an thereby prevents this roller and associated parts from dropping between these bars and becoming displaced with reference to other parts of the machine.

Means are provided whereby said impression roller while in its forward position permits theV stencil carrier and stencil to drop into their operating position, but whlch While in its rearward position is' adapted to raise said carrier and stencil into. an inoperative position, so that the operation'of raising and lowering the stencil carrier is effected automatically by the operation of the ink-impression device and therefore avoids the necessity of performing this function manually by the operator. rThis result is accomplished Vin a simple, efficient'and inexpensive manner by providing the stencil-carrier or printing frame with a tail 50 which extends rearwardly beyond the pivotal connection or coupling between the stencil carrier and the platen, this tail being preferably curved downwardly so as to conform substantially to the curvature of the ink impression roller. While the inking mechanism is in its rearmost position, the impression roller rests upon the tail of the stencil carrier and causes the latter to be elevated from the horizontal operative position shown by full lines in Fig. 2 to the raised inoperative position shown by dotted lines in the same figure. When the parts are in this last-mentioned position, the operator can easily and conveniently remove the previously printed card or sheet and replace the same by the next following unprinted card or sheet. Upon drawing the carriage forwardly, the ink impression roller passes from the tail upon the stencil carrier and stencil, thereby lowering the same upon the article to be printed, so that as the impressionV roller passes over the upper side of theA stencil an inked impression of the same will'be produced upon the article resting upon the platen. Upon vreturning the carriage to its rearmost position after this printing operation has been accom lished and engaging the impression roller with the tail of the stencil carrier, the latter and the stencil will be again elevated into an inoperative position, so as to enable the operator to replace the printed card or article by an unprinted one, this operation being repeated for printing each article.

In order to arrest the backward motion of the impression mechanism, so that the impression roller stands over and rests upon the tail of the stencil-carrier at the end of this movement, a stop device is provided which preferably consists of two stop pins or lugs 51 arranged on the lower parts of the guide shoes or hooks of the slide in position to engage with the rear posts 19 of the guide rails, as shown by dotted linesI in Fig. 2.

When it is desired to print comparatively small sheet-like articles such as shipping tags, a support is provided which is better suited for same and the stroke of the impression mechanism is shortened in accordance with the reduced size of the article to be printed. Figs. 6-9 show the machine organized for producing printingof such .small cards or tags, and as there shown, the card or tag 52 is supported upon a concave surface 53 which is formed on the upper side of a comparatively short platen 54, the latter projecting over the central part of the cross bars 14, 15, and being removably held in this position by means of posts arranged underneath its front part and engaging with the openings 22 in the table while its rear end is provided with a depending flange 56 engaging with the top of the bars 17. The stencil carrier 57 in this case is also relatively shorter than the stencil carrier for printing posts cards shown in Figs. 1-5. The smaller stencil 58 which is employed in the machine shown in Figs. 6-9 is supported on the underside of the short stencilcarrier or printing frame b means of clips or cleats 59 secured to the ront part of the short stencil carrier and engaging underneath opposite transverse edge portions of this stencil, as best shown in F ig. 6. This short stencil carrier is also provided with lpivot or coupling lugs 6() at its rear end which engage with notches 6l on opposite sides of the rear part of the short platen, each of these lugs being provided at itsy rear edge with an upwardly-facing stop-shoulder 62 adapted to engage with the underside of the short platen. The short-stencil carrier is also provided with a rearwardly-projecting tail 63 which is adapted` to be engaged by the ink-impression roller when the latter is in its rearmost position, so as to elevate the carrier and stencil from the tag or small card, as shown by full lines in Fig. 6, while upon moving the impression roller forwardly over the stencil-carrier, the latter will descend together with the stencil and permit the impression roller to produce an imprint of the stencil on the tag or card. Inasmuch as the stroke of the impression device in this case is considerably shorter for printing tags as compared with the length of stroke when printing post cards, means are provided for arresting the backward movement of the impression device when the im pression roller is arranged over the tail of the short stencil carrier. This stop device may be variously constructed, for' lnstance, the same may consist of a stop screw or pin 64 detachably secured to each of the guide rails 17 at a suitable point midway of its front and rear ends, so that the same is engaged by the stop-pin 64 on the adjacent side of the slide, and thus arrests the backward motion of the impression mechanism at the proper place, as shown in Fig. 6.

As a whole, this printing apparatus is very simple in construction, it has no delicate parts which are liable to get out of order, the same can be readily assembled and dismembered, and can be operated eX- peditiously by hand for producing printing of tags. post cards and similar articles economically.

I claim as my invention:

1. A printing apparatus, comprising a platen adapted to support the article to be printed, a stencil carrier pivotally connected withthe platen so as to be movable vertically toward and from said platen and adapted to support a printing stencil in front of its pivot and provided with a tail 'in rear of its pivot which extendssubstantially across the entire width of the stencil carrier, and an ink roller movable back and forth over said carrier and adapted while in its forward position, to depress the sten-I cil carrier and produce an impression of the stencil on the article to be printed and while in its rearward position to engage directly with said tail and raise said carrier and stencil into an inoperative position.

2. A printing apparatus com rising a platen adapted to support the artlcles to be printed and provided in its rear part with two recesses, a .stencil carrier swlnging Avertically toward and from said platen and pivotally connected at its rear end with said platen by means of two lugs depending from the rear end of said carrier through the two recesses in the rear part of said platen, an ink roller movable back and forth over said carrier and adapted to produce an impression of the stencil on the article to be printed, a reciprocating carriage upon which said roller is mounted, and means operable directly by said roller whereby said l roller while in its forward position permits said carrier and stencil to descend into an operative position and whilein its rearward position is adapted to raise said carrier and stencil into an inoperative position.

3. A printing apparatus' comprising a. platen adapted to support the artlcles to be printed and provided in its rear part with two recesses, a stencil carrier swinging vertically toward and from said platen and pivotally connected at its rear end with said platen by means of two lugs depending from the rear end of said carrier through the two recesses in the rear part of said platle-n each lug provided at its' rear end with-a stop shoulder adapted to engage the underside of said platen, an `ink roller movable back and forth over said carrier and adapted to produce an impression 'of the stencil on the article to be printed, a reciprocating carriage upon which said roller is mounted,

and means operable directly by said roller' whereby said roller while in its forward position permits said carrier and stencil to descend into an operative position and while in its rearward position is adapted to raise said carrier and stencil into an inoperative position.

4. A printingl appalratus comprising a.

' platen adapted to support the articles to be printed, a stencil carrler swinging vertically toward and from said platen and pivotally connected at its rear end with said platen and provided with a tail projecting rearwardly from the central part of the carrier and beyond the pivot of the stencil carrier, an ink roller movable back and forth over said stencil carrier and its tail and adapted when in its forward position to depress said stencil carrier into its depressed operative position and when in its rearward positidn to engage directly with said tail and Adepress the same for elevating the stencil carrier into its inoperative position, a' carriage on which said ink roller is mounted, a slide on which said carriage is pivoted to swing vertically, and a guideway on which said slide reciprocates.

GUY J. EVANS. 

